Lace-fastener



(No Model.)

J. W. KING. I LACE PASTENER.

No. 484,661. Patented Oct. 18, 1892;

ATTORNEYS.

ma mums PETE": cc, mam-mum, msumm'uu, a. c.

Uivrren STATES PATENT @rrtcni.

Justus w. KING, or HELENA, MONTANA.

LACE-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 484,661, dated October 18, 1892,

Application filed September 10, 1891- Serial No. 405,284. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JUsTUs W. KING, of Helena, in the county of Lewis and Clarke and State of Montana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Lace-Fasteners, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in lace-fasteners, and has for its object to provide a device adapted for attachment to a corset, to shoes, or to any other article in connection with which a lace is employed, which device will be of exceedingly simple, durable, and economic construction; and a further.object of the invention is to so form the device that it will automatically lock and maintain in a fixed position that portion of any lace which may be brought properly in engagement with it, and also capable of adjustment to laces of differing thicknesses.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a plan View of the device, illustratinga lace held thereby. Fig. 2 is a section taken practically on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the device.

The invention consists, primarily, of a base 10 and a spring-controlled locking-button 11, loosely carried by the base. The base 10 is preferably made circular in general contour, and the upper surface thereof at the center is depressed or otherwise manipulated to form a well 12. The surface 13 around the well is decidedly cylindrical or convex and curves downward, preferably, to meet the lower edge of the base. The base is ordinarily made of thin metal, so that beneath its upper portion a chamber let is obtained, for a purpose to be hereinafter described.

The button 11 is much smaller than the base, but is of sufficient size to extend over the cylindric surface 13 at the top of the base. The button preferably consists of an outer metal shell 15, having attached thereto an inner facing 16, of rubber or like material, the under surface of said facing being flat, or essentially so; but if in practice it is found desirable, instead of the shell being quite thin, as illustrated, and the facing thick, the order of their construction may be reversed. The button is held in adjustable engagement with the base by a pin or post 17, which pin or post passes through an aperture centrally produced in the button and likewise through an aperture formed in the depressed or well portion of the base.

The head of the pin or post is preferably located at its outer end, and to the inner end, which is provided with an attached washer or nut 18, a spring 19 is centrally secured, the said spring being preferably of abow pattern and consisting of a piece of arched steel, the ends whereof engage with the inner surface of the base near its lower edge, and the tendency of the spring 19 is tonormally cause the button to engage with the cylindric surface 13 of the base. The base is ordinarily provided with a series of spurs 20, which spurs are passed through the material to which the device is to be attached and are clinched upon the under side of the material, as shown in Fig. 2; but if in practice it is found desirable the base may be provided with a flange having apertures produced therein, enabling it to be sewed to the fabric or to the leather.

In the operation of the device a lace 21 is passed between the cylindric surface of the base and the opposed surface of the button, forcing the latter outward against the tension of thespring 19, and the lace is given one or more turns, as may be desired, around the pin or post 17, whereupon the frictional engagement between the cylindric portion of the base, the lace, and the button will be sufficient to hold the lace stationary and effectually prevent it from slipping. The well or depression 12 is formed in the base in order that one or more turns of the lace may be taken around the pin.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. The combination, inalace-fastener, with the hollow base having a centrally-apertured depression or well, of the button=head having a stem extending through said aperture and a spring concealed within the base and cor:- nected to said stem to draw the button-head toward said depression, substantially as set forth.

2. A lace-fastener consisting in a hollow base 10, provided with attaching-prongs 20 and a centrally-apertured depression or well 12, the button-head formed of an apertured 1o shell 11, having an inner facing 16, of rubber or like material, a stem or post 17, passed through the button-head and base, and the plate-spring 19 within the base and connected between its ends with the inner end of said stem, substantially as set forth.

JUSTUS W. KING.

Witnesses:

LUTHER H. WILsoN, JAMES H. HOLMES. 

